Cavaliers vs. Hawks Game 3 Results, Recap and highlights (Video)

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Things got testy in Game 3 of the Cavaliers vs. Hawks series, but ultimately it was Cleveland walking away with the 3-0 series lead.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are just one win away from their first NBA Finals berth since 2007, and things are already looking like they’re going to end up very differently. Cleveland is still five wins away from their first title ever, but they’re about to add their second conference title to the franchise’s history.

That’s all thanks to a Game 3 that was as thrilling as it was testy.

In one of the most controversial calls of the postseason, Al Horford was ejected in the second quarter for elbowing Matthew Dellavedova in the torso. Many believed that this wasn’t warranting an ejection because Al Horford didn’t connect to Delly’s head — but the NBA saw it differently.

That ended up being a brutal blow to the Hawks, as they lost their last ‘superstar’ caliber player and were left without most of the options that made them a 60-win team this season.

LeBron James was a big factor in both a positive and negative way in Game 3. His slow start allowed the Hawks to get early points that ended up paying off big down the stretch of the game. It was a dichotomy of LeBron though, as he went 0-10 in the first quarter but ended up getting a triple-double before the third quarter was done.

To say LeBron James wasn’t amped up in the second half would be to underestimate his night overall.

Things were physical before the game too though, with some Cavalier-on-Cavalier violence in the form of Tristan Thompson posterizing Timofey Mozgov and giving him a bloody nose.

J.R. Smith started hot as well and cooled off on both ends of the court. Smith had a nasty lock on Dennis Schroder early on in the game, but wasn’t as dominate late in the game when the Hawks took the lead. \

But while you can count J.R. Smith down at times during the game, never count him out.

But when you need something, J.R. Smith usually steps up and he did that when he hit a deep three to tie the game 100-100 late in the fourth.

Leave it to J.R. Smith to save things and make them interesting down the stretch of overtime. Tristan Thompson did his part by making a clutch bucket, but shanked the free throw which would have been easy points.

J.R. Smith stepped up when he needed to though, and he gave the Cavs a late lead. In overtime, J.R. Smith managed to hit a late three-pointer that was very reminiscent of he prior three and was something that ignited The Q and his teammates when they needed it the most.

LeBron James was the story of the game though, as his playoff tripe-double was mind blowing and his late game redemption after starting so slow and missing free throws down the stretch was amazing to see.

We were in awe of the King, and that’s the way it should be,

So when is Game 4 and the potential closeout game of this series? The Cavaliers can taste the NBA Finals, as they’re a game away and we have all the information you need to know so you don’t miss a second of the action next week:

Date: Tuesday, May 26th
Start Time: 8:00pm ET
Location: Cleveland, OH
Venue: Quicken Loans Arena
Series Lead: Cavaliers lead series 3-0
TV Channel: TNT
Live Stream: TNT Overtime

Cavaliers vs. Hawks Game 3 Results, Recap and highlights (Video)

By Josh Hill | May 24, 2015

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